Africa attracts the lion’s share (pun intended) of eco-tourists and the good news is you don’t have to spend a fortune to get there!

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There are several regions in Africa that will appeal to birders especially so in this post we will have a look at South Africa.  Most people would be flying into Johannesburg (JNB) but some may prefer to fly into Cape Town (CPT) so I will give options for both using my recommended frequent flier programs.

STAR ALLIANCE

UNITED AIRLINES

With United, it’s easiest to use their interactive award chart.  To illustrate the mileage required you can just look at the “from Africa” section.  These awards are on a one-way basis.  If you are planning a multi-destination trip around Africa, you should book it as a round-trip to take advantage of a free stopover and open jaw to get more destination in the award.

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Region Definitions: The chart above is for travel between the following regions.

• Central & Southern Africa (includes Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D’lvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion Island, Rwanda, S. Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe)

Mileage award rates are quoted for one way savers.

To get to South Africa from the USA and Canada, it’s 40k in economy and 60k in Business.   JNB is served by South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Thai, Egypt Air, Turkish and Singapore.  CPT is served by South African.

From Australia and New Zealand, it’s 50k economy and 75k business.  You’d be using Singapore or Thai connecting to South African, Ethiopian or Egypt Air.

From Europe it’s 30k economy and 45k business with connections on South African, Egypt Air, Turkish and Ethiopian.

You may also want to use your miles for intra-Africa trips but for domestic flights you would probably be better off paying for a cheap ticket online.  You can get to other places in Africa for 12.5k economy and 25 business with South African, Ethiopian.  Please note that Egypt is in the North Africa region so costs 22.5k economy and 35k business.

AVIANCA-TACA LIFEMILES

This program is a favourite with those who can’t easily get miles from the generous USA based credit cards as they often sell miles cheaply.  The mileage costs are roughly the same as United but please note in the screenshot how much you can save by using the “More Money” feature to buy miles at roughly $0.15 each if you can’t otherwise get Lifemiles.   Of course if you have more Lifemiles than $$ then simply book the “More miles” option.  Check them out on their website.   In the examples below, I show you an economy trip from New York to Johannesburg and a business class trip from Brisbane to Johannesburg.

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SINGAPORE AIRLINES KRISFLYER

SQ is a great option if you live in a country where Amex Membership Rewards transfer to Krisflyer such as Australia.  The YQ fuel surcharge can be pretty high but if you book online for SQ metal awards you save 15% of the mileage cost.  See this example of a one way Brisbane – Johannesburg where the price comes down from 72,500 miles to 61,625 miles.

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Notice the yellow highlighter below of the $430 YQ surcharge.  This is why I don’t use Krisflyer for redemptions like this.  I would use United in this case.

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ONE WORLD AIRLINES

AMERICAN AADVANTAGE

This is the most popular of the One World alliance frequent flyer programs and they do have some great award options.  If you are coming from North America and route via LHR on BA or MAD on IB you will have to pay fuel surcharges.  You can save these charges if you use Air Berlin or Finnair from North America to Europe, then Etihad to Johannesburg.  British Airways is the only airline serving Cape Town so you will most likely have to use Johannesburg as your gateway with One World.  Later this year, when Qatar Airways joins One World, that opens up more routings too.  Honestly, for trips to Africa, Star Alliance rules so I would be using their miles first.

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All awards are priced as one way awards, add 2 to get a round trip.

From North America – Economy is 37.5k and business is 75k.  Use British Airways, Iberia (see note above) or Air Berlin or Finnair to Europe, then Etihad to Johannesburg.  In late 2013, Qatar Airways will be available.

From Europe – Economy is 30k and business is 37.5k.  Use British Airways, Iberia (see note above) or Air Berlin or Finnair to Europe, then Etihad to Johannesburg.  In late 2013, Qatar Airways will be available.

From Australia & New Zealand – Economy is 37.5k ,business is 50k.  Use Qantas, Malaysian or Cathay Pacific to Asia, then Etihad or Qatar (late 2013) to Johannesburg.

Within Africa – economy is 10k, business is 17.5k.  Options are very limited with only a few routes served by British Airways/Comair such as Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Harare, Livingstone, Maputo, Mauritius, Port Elizabeth, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.

BRITISH AIRWAYS & IBERIA AVIOS

This is a distance-based program so use Great Circle Mapper and the Avios Chart to calculate the award cost.  All awards are priced as one ways awards, add 2 to get a round trip.

Avios Zone Chart

You have to add each segment’s award separately.

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In these examples, London to Jo’burg is 5620 miles so falls in zone 7 and costs 30k in economy and 60k in business.  If someone connects in Doha when Qatar Airways joins One World, there are 2 segments.  New York to Doha is 6703 miles which falls in zone 8 and costs 35k in economy and 70k business class.  Then you add Doha to Jo’burg which is 3862 miles, falling in zone 5 and costs 20k economy and 40k business.  The whole trip from New York to Jo’burg would cost 55k economy and 110k business.

The British Airways/Comair flights can be a bargain.

In the examples above, Jo’burg to either Harare or Victoria Falls is in zone 1 so only costs 4500 Avios each way in economy or 9000 business.  Jo’burg to Cape Town is in zone 2 and costs 7500 economy, 15k business.  Jo’burg to Mauritius is in zone 3 and costs 10k economy, 20k business.

QANTAS

Qantas has direct flights from Sydney to Johannesburg with connections from other Australian cities.  The awards are not cheap though.  In this example from Brisbane to Johannesburg it’s a whopping 255k in economy one way!   May be of use to Aussie business travelers who get lots of points from their work travel but too rich for my blood!

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Using Points plus Pay doesn’t bring any relief but on the bright side it appears to include the YQ tax.

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SUMMARY

Star Alliance rules Africa!  If you have to use One World, avoid going through London on BA because of the taxes.  I have a trip planned for 2015 and am currently collecting United Miles for this trip.